Happy Halloween and Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Halloween is up there along with my top three favorite holidays. In fact, it is this season that I love the most. It starts with a chilly October, when it finally feels like fall in Texas. I love to carve pumpkins, and decorate the house with fall-ish decor. This year however I was on the road so much with work that Halloween snuck up on me. There are no carved pumpkins on my doorstep, no toasted pumpkin seeds in my kitchen.

I got two things for Halloween this year. A sinus infection that I'm trying hard to keep from turning into strep throat, and these lovely flowers from my Jim. Thank you hunny!!

I have never seen a mum this color before. They are beautiful, and spooky, and the perfect gift to cheer me up while I lay on the couch with hot tea and lots of kleenex.

I probably will not go out tonight dressed up, but if I WERE to go out, I was planning on being a Japanese Geisha.

I found a wig that looked just like this gal's hair, with chopsticks criss-crossing in the back. I just love her makeup, and was hoping to do something similar with my MAC makeup.

Here is a pic of my dad vacationing in Japan.

Isn't she beautiful? I wanted to pretend to be her tonight, but instead I'm watching movies with my porch light off. (The universal sign to trick or treaters, "stay away.")

Many of you will dress up your kids and walk around your neighborhood or attend a Fall Carnival. Until we have kids of our own, Jim and I will torture our two dogs. Here is Cole, dressed as a chicken!

He really didn't mind the costume that much at all.

We found these dog costumes at Target, and originally planned to make Cole the shark, and Madeline the Chicken, but when we pulled them out of the shopping bag, Cole immediately lunged for the chicken costume...so we put it on him.

We tried to switch it up a little, Madeline did NOT like the headpiece, I had to hold her still in order for Jim to snap a quick picture - and their eyes look super spooky in this shot.

I think the chicken suite looks better on Cole.

Madeline was NOT having that head piece.

My baby boy! This is just the cutest costume!

Jim trying to get the headpiece on Madeline.

Oh my gosh, we laughed so hard at these two.

On to my Halloween treats! I found a great Pumpkin Spice Cupcake recipe on RealSimple.com and what I loved most since this is a busy month for me, is that you start with yellow cake mix.

Here is what you need for quick and easy pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting:

Makes 24 cupcakes

Hands-On Time: 15m

Total Time: 40m

Ingredients
1 18.5-ounce box yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
24 pieces candy corn

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions.

Pumpkin pie spice.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, I beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. It's important for the cream cheese to be at room temperature for this to work.

My lovelies! Be sure to let these cool completely before icing.

Top each with a candy corn, orange sprinkles, or some other Fall decoration.

So easy, and VERY moist and delicious. I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween!!

Allyson's Cupcake Pops: A Scary Halloween Tale

Happier times made Allyson think she could make Halloween treats for the TASB bakesale...Little did she know that there was going to be an awful Massacre at Collins Creek.
When there are this many ghosts, there's always trouble...
But even the ghosts met an untimely death.
We're melting!!!
Hey -- why are you still smiling?

The pumpkins were not spared.
Some tried to keep a cheery outlook, but their fate was grim.
One pumpkin was left relatively unscathed.
Why are you still smiling? You're about to become pumpkin pie.
The tragedy even made it to the usually perfect cupcake pops.They melted too.

The massacre also claimed the candy corns. Especially the one in front.
Smily pumpkin could not cheer up the melted candy corn.
Maybe the flowers will come back in the Spring......
We need a party to cheer us up!

Thanks Allyson for sharing your pics. These are the cutest little cupcake pops, great idea, sorry they melted a bit. I'm sure they still tasted great. For full recipe and instructions on making ALL KINDS of cupcake pops, visit Bakerella.

Banana Crunch Muffins

What do you do with four very ripe bananas? Make Banana Crunch Muffins. I saw Ina Garten make these on Barefoot Contessa and they looked very wholesome. I downloaded the recipe and realized they weren’t as wholesome I thought they were. 2 cups of sugar, ½ pound of butter, sweetened shredded coconut? Yikes!

Here is everything you need:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)

1 cup small-diced walnuts (I didn’t have any kind of nut to add)

1 cup granola

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

I put two sticks of butter on the stove and got them about half melted then took off the heat to let them melt the rest of the way and then cool off before I needed to use them.
Because Ina does it, I sifted the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer (this one happens to be Allysons, THANKS!) fitted with a paddle attachment.

I had to google "paddle attachment" and this is what one looks like if you weren't sure.
Add the melted butter and blend.

Combine the eggs,
milk,

vanilla,
and mashed bananas,

Add all this to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. But don't overmix.
Dice a banana,

measure a cup of granola. This is the local granola I bought at the Austin Farmers Market.
Add all this and one cup of coconut to the mixture and fold in gently.
Looks good!
One tip I learned from Ina on her cooking show is to brush vegetable oil on the top of the muffin tin to keep the batter from sticking.
Next, Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Look how mine puffed out and over, and then landed flat. I think these are ugly. I’m going to fix these by peeling off all the muffin tops (which some people really love, so I’m saving for later) and then icing these muffins to make them cupcakes. It’s not like they were healthy to begin with. I’ve found a couple recipes online that looked really yummy so I’m going to combine two recipes and make my own.

8 oz Italian Cream Cheese, otherwise known as Mascarpone

Half stick of butter, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

2 t cinnamon

2-3 C powdered sugar (add more or less to make it a stiffness that you like)

1 tablespoons honey

1. Mix butter and mascarpone well.
2. Add vanilla and cinnamon, mix.
3. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, mix after each ½ cup addition.
4. Add honey to taste.